Welcome to Gaia! ::

Rowan was pleasantly surprised to receive a message from Halia, it had been a good while since they’d last seen each other. She could only assume that the other young woman had been preoccupied with everything that had happened over the past months. With a new apartment on top of all of that, it was no wonder that she hadn’t had time to talk. Carefully placing a few jars of her newer tea blends into an old gift basket, she hurried out the door and into her car. Encountering a bakery along the way, she hurried inside to buy a batch of still-warm rolls and a few pastries before returning to her car. She wasn’t sure how suitable a housewarming gift it would be, but at least she knew that she had one thing Halia liked.

She smiled as her friend opened the door, “Of course I came! I would have helped you move if you needed it. Anyway, I brought you a few things. I hope you like them!”

Rowan was surprised to hear Halia mention a grandfather, she couldn’t remember hearing her friend ever talk about her family. She had some suspicions as to why that was the case, but Halia’s obvious discomfort when any of the older scars became visible made it clear that it was a story for Halia to tell when she was ready. If she was ever ready.

“Oh I know how stressful that can be, I understand being caught up in something like that.” Rowan’s eyes instinctively flicked downward as her friend fidgeted with the bandage on her leg. “What happened there?”

Despite her concern over the apparent injury, Rowan felt a surprised happiness at the revelation that Halia found more of her family. Family who seemingly were far better than the ones she’d known before. She couldn’t imagine having any relatives in their situation, much less a lot of them. Still, it sounded like a good support system and everyone could use that in their lives.

“That’s…amazing! Are they nice? How many of them are like us?”

Rowan’s eyes widened in surprise before she broke into a smile as she admiringly appraised her friend’s new tattoo, nodding in approval. “Well, that is lovely, it really suits you! Where did you get the inspiration for it?” She was uninked herself, too concerned about the possibility of needing to build outfits around something so permanent, but that certainly didn’t stop her from appreciating other people’s body art.

She pursed her lips slightly Halia’s desire to not antagonize her grandfather was understandable, but it still seemed like a shame to hide it. At least from the sound of it he was a kind man, old-fashioned views on personal aesthetics aside.

An undeniable happiness rose within her as her friend described her new family, and as complicated as the supernatural elements could make things, having people to help carry the burden would certainly make those complications easier to navigate.

“I’m glad to hear that, I think you needed a win in the ‘family’ department.” She was surprised at the idea of Halia throwing a housewarming party, she hadn’t seemed much like the party sort. Having good people to add to the guest list must be a good motivator.

Rowan was fairly certain that the name “Mason” triggered the blush that spread across Halia’s face and she raised her eyebrows. “Mason, hm?” Her expression grew a bit mischievous. “New friend?”

Rowan nodded, intrigued by her friend’s thought process as she described the reasoning that went into her tattoo. She’d never considered the possibility of getting a tattoo on a dare, though she was fully aware that her own reckless tendencies stemmed from that sort of thinking. There were certainly worse ways to cope with stress, many of which found themselves well embodied in the battered alien she’d left snoring on her couch. Still, the mention of a breakdown was more than enough to elicit concern.

“What happened? Did…Harold have something to do with it?” It would have been stranger if it hadn’t affected her profoundly. She should have been more consistent in checking in with Halia. Not that the things she experienced, the things she saw hadn’t been affecting her. Driving her if she was being entirely honest with herself. She should have checked in more.

Hearing Halia talk about her grandfather eased some of the tension within her. A strong support network. Everyone needed that. Mason, on the other hand, seemed to have an entirely different effect on her friend. Though the difference in age did catch her by surprise. She couldn’t remember exactly how much older Halia was than her sister, but from what she remembered she was in her late teens. Maybe the boy was in college.

“He sounds sweet, even if he didn’t opt for an improvised weapon.” She returned the smile with a slight sheepishness. More than a bit of a mother hen herself, the need to protect the vulnerable resonated with her deeply. “Nothing wrong with having a crush.”

Everything Halia described definitely felt like reason enough to struggle emotionally, the thoroughly unpleasant business with the Dark Star and its…employee would take a toll on anybody. It had taken a toll on her, to say the least. “If you’d let me know I’d have let you stay with me for as long as you needed to. Though, I do have an…unusual houseguest right now. A deep space senshi followed me home.”

There was a hint of laughter in her voice at the absurdity of her situation. She couldn’t deny that she would have been tempted to take in a stray alien even if she didn’t have some of Elysia’s vague recollections on the matter. After a few thoughtful seconds she continued, “Well, if you did have a crush, there would be nothing wrong with that on its own. It’s good that you wouldn’t want to get between him and whoever he’s seeing now though.” Unrequited crushes weren’t Rowan’s idea of a fun time, but it was still better than potentially hurting someone. Besides, new friendships were worth celebrating.

Rowan smiled sympathetically, “I understand that, but just know that if you ever need somewhere to stay, you’re always welcome at my place, even if you just need a night.” She hoped that Halia wasn’t being too harsh with herself on the matter, “Besides, it’s not like someone selling your old place was anything you did wrong.”

The way her friend characterized Fin wasn’t entirely inaccurate, cats could be very loud and needy when they wanted to be. She couldn’t exactly blame the man for being desperate for social interaction after how “A very…chatty stray kitten who hasn’t had anyone to talk to for a very long time. I have scraps of memories of the old Tempesti being friends with him, but he obviously knows more about that than I do.”

As she listened to the way Halia described her situation, she couldn’t help but allow her own concern to color her thoughts on the matter. Happy as she would normally be to see her friend so excited about a potential love interest, it was impossible to ignore the fact that the boy was in a relationship with someone else. “He definitely sounds likeable, but I do think that you should be careful that things don’t get too messy, especially if he’s seeing someone else.” She hated to throw cold water on Halia’s enthusiasm, but taking that into consideration had to be better in the long run, right?

Seeing Halia’s distress, Rowan felt more than a little bit guilty for pressing her into this state of painful clarity. She’d clearly been happier in her oblivious state, especially given that

“I don’t think…I think there’s really not anything good to do here. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have pushed you on it.” She held out her arms, offering a comforting hug. If she couldn’t put the genie back in the bottle, the least she could do was be supportive. Her own romantic inexperience aside, she knew how tough it could be to have those feelings and nowhere to put them.

“I think the best thing you can do is just be a friend to him. Things will even out in the end. Anyway, someone would be lucky to have you as a friend.” It wasn’t the happy ending answer she’d like to give, but it was better than lying. Even if it didn’t feel better.